Parents of Jenin Soldier: Justice Will be Done

The parents of a soldier slain in Jenin express confidence that despite Supreme Court ruling on “Jenin, Jenin” slander, justice will be done

By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 7/29/2011, 12:37 PM / Last Update: 7/29/2011, 5:56 PM

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“There are many, many people who wish to harm the people of Israel and the state of Israel; as many as there are blades of grass. But those with faith know that justice is on our side, that even though the state is now controlled by the left and that sometimes has a bad effect, we have hope and we do not doubt that justice will be brought to light.”

So say Simcha and Penina Mellick, whose son Gedalia was killed fighting terrorists in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield. They spoke to Arutz Sheva following a Supreme Court ruling this week that the maker of the film “Jenin, Jenin” does not need to pay for slandering IDF soldiers.

“Jenin, Jenin” accused soldiers of various war crimes and crimes against humanity with no basis in fact. However, since filmmaker Mohammed Bakri did not target any individual soldier with his accusations, he does not need to compensate any soldier, the court ruled. The court previously ruled that the film could be shown despite its many inaccuracies and false allegations.

“What gives us strength is faith,” Simcha and Penina said. “We did not come to the land of Israel for our own sakes alone, we came for the sake of the people of Israel. The state of Israel is incomplete, it is something that is coming into being, and as with any process, there is a price.”

“We have no complaints and no anger,” they continued. “There is an ongoing struggle against those forces that would humiliate the people of Israel, harass the people of Israel and destroy us, but we draw the strength to believe from our forefathers.”

Aside from the loss of their son, the Mellick family suffered an additional tragedy – a daughter was severely handicapped in an accident. Despite their suffering, the Mellicks thank G-d for every moment.

“These challenges move us forward, to things we would not be able to achieve if everything was good and everything was perfect,” they said, adding, “We do not always see the purpose, we do not understand the deep wisdom behind our existence.”